Evander the evader

Another week, another swollen media scrum talking to Evander Kane about something other than his scoring exploits.

Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time the Winnipeg Jets so-called sniper was actually talking about his sniping.

Kane's been colder than last week's potatoes, and just as dry.

But that's not why Jets head coach Paul Maurice handed him a seat in the press box in Toronto, Saturday, immediately transforming Hockey Night in Canada into the latest episode of A Star is Benched.

Inquiring minds immediately wanted to know why, and after initially playing coy, Maurice on Monday basically acknowledged No. 9 broke a team rule, which generally means he was late for something.

Whether it was for a team bus or a team breakfast doesn't really matter.

"The rules are the rules," as Maurice said.

It's really pretty simple: if you want to build a team the right way, you treat all players the same when it comes to rules, whether they're fourth-line pluggers or $5-million-per-year stars who refer to themselves as #thenatural on their heavily-followed Twitter accounts.

"This situation with Evander Kane has been addressed three times. He's not the only one," Maurice said. "I have dealt with it directly and clearly with the team and player."

Then there's the way Kane dealt with it.

How would you expect a player to react publicly in his first appearance after being disciplined?

With some contrition, perhaps?

Kane was to contrition on Monday what he's been to scoring lately: a complete stranger.

Here's how you might think an exchange with the media would go in this situation:

Reporter: Is there a specific message you want to take from (the coach's) decision, Saturday night?

Player: Absolutely. That breaking team rules, no matter how small they are, is unacceptable.

Reporter: What was the reason for the decision?

Player: I don't want to get into the details, but I made a mistake and take full responsibility for it. We're trying to build a winning culture here, and that means doing the right things on and off the ice. I want to be a leader in that.

It's pretty simple stuff, really. The kind of things you'd assume a character player, the kind the Jets want to build around, would not only say, but believe in.

Instead, this is how Kane's media scrum went:

Reporter: "Is there a specific message you want to take from (the coach's) decision?"

Kane: "No. Not really nothing specific."

Reporter: "So it was unclear to you why you weren't playing in the game?"

Kane: "Uh, no. But it's, in terms of, I don't know what message you're looking for me to say."

Reporter: "I'm not looking for a message. I was just wondering if there was something you took from it."

Kane: "I said no. There wasn't anything specific."

Reporter: "Did you know in advance of the morning skate that you wouldn't be in the lineup, or did you find out after the morning skate?"

Kane: "I knew before."

Reporter: "And what were you told was the reason?"

Kane: "Were you not just here for the interview?"

Reporter: "So you'd rather not comment on it, is that what you're saying?"

Kane: "Well, he just asked me that, and I just answered."

And so it went, a silly cat-and-mouse game that nobody particularly enjoyed. Except maybe Kane, although I'm not even sure about that.

Kane has in the past noted how every little thing gets blown out of proportion in a rabid hockey market like Winnipeg, and he's dead-right about that.

I would think any athlete would take that over a city laced with indifference.

So when a player in a caring market is asked if he wants out, what do you think he'd say?